Swamy demands Priyanka's prosecution for visiting Vellore jail

New Delhi, Apr 16 (UNI) Contending that Ms Priyanka Vadra's recent visit to a high-security prison in Vellore to meet the killer of her father Rajiv Gandhi was a criminal offence, Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy today asked the Tamil Nadu government to prosecute her on the charge of tresspassing.

''If the Tamil Nadu government fails to do so by May 21, I shall file a private complaint in the court to enforce the police to do its statutory duty,'' Dr Swamy said in a statement here.

He said jail officials had confirmed that Ms Vadra visited the ''highly restricted'' prison housing death row terrorists without getting the requisite permission, which was a criminal offence.

Dr Swamy also termed as ''bogus'' the reasons furnished by her for wanting to meet Nalini, who was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court for killing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at an election meeting in Seriperambudur in Tami Nadu in May 1991. It was later commuted to life imprisonment.

''...the CBI and SPG know that she (Nalini) was a low level worker who would not know the higher level participants in the conspiracy, but was one who actively participated, without remorse, in carrying out the dastardly assassination of a former prime minister...at the behest of a foreign terorist organisation...'' he added.

Ms Vadra had issued a signed statement that her visit to the jail was absolutely personal, and it should be respected.

Dr Swamy said Ms Vadra had not disclosed the real reasons for the ''one-to-one meeting'' with Nalini and ''all media reports about their dialogue are second hand and third hand versions and pure hearsay.'' He also said if Ms Vadra wanted to tell the nation the truth about who contracted the LTTE to kill her father, ''she can begin by telling the nation about her father's last phone call from Visakhapatnam to her and the details of the conversations that took place.

''She should also investigate who persuaded Mr Gandhi to campaign in Seriperumbudur when even the local Congress candidate did not ask for it, and how his travel schedule became known to Sivarasan and to the LTTE even before the local police was informed of his visit.'' Dr Swamy said Ms Vadra should also ask her mother Sonia Gandhi why the UPA government had abandoned the demand for extradition of LTTE spremo V Prabhakaran and his lieutenant, Pottu Amman, who are still Accused No 1 and 2 respectively in the trial court chargesheet.

He said the commutation of Nalini's death sentence to life imprisonment was ''illegally'' done in 2000 by the NDA government at the Centre and the DMK government in Tamil Nadu by asking the Governor to proclaim it. Only the President of India can grant such pardon under the Constitution.

''Hence, if any move is made by Ms Vadra to free Nalini from prison for some quid pro quo, I shall file a PIL against the same...'' he said.

UNI/SKS AKJ RK1903